Pain in the Arsenal
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Thierry Henry and Arsene Wenger Combine for Perfect Approximation of Arsenal’s Needs

By Josh Sippie

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I have been very outspoken about Thierry Henry as a pundit. I am not a fan. In the past he has said some seriously questionable things that made me scratch my head. He was back in front of a SkySports TV screen talking about Arsenal again when he was giving his rundown over which teams would be competing for a title. Here is what he had to say:

“I still think they need four players to get closer to Chelsea,” the legendary striker commented. The only position he keyed in on was striker, saying: “Olivier Giroud alone there as a natural-born striker, it is difficult, because they say when he does not score, it is very difficult.”

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Arsene Wenger is of a different mind than Thierry Henry, claiming that he would look for one or two more players, if the situation was correct.

Taking Wenger’s approximation of two and Henry’s approximation of four, we can average that out at three. Three: That is the number of players that Arsenal need to be foolproof, injury proof and pundit proof.

Here is what they ‘need’: A striker, a holding mid, and a left back.

Lets start with striker, because Henry is so keen on it as well. Arsenal do have a ton of strikers. Giroud, Walcott, Alexis, Welbeck, Akpom. But in terms of tried, experienced strikers, Arsenal have Giroud and maybe, kind of, sort of, possibly Theo Walcott but he has never had a prolonged run at striker.

Alexis has been best served away from the striker position. Danny Welbeck is the biggest question mark of them all, as he has all the makings of a striker but nothing to show for it as of yet. Akpom is still 19 years old and may need a few more years to become a serious challenger for Giroud.

In Arsene Wenger’s eyes, that is five quality strikers. In Henry’s eyes, that is one quality striker, with the potential for two. We could pull the averages machine out again and say that means Arsenal have three and a half strikers, but that doesn’t really work as well here. Arsenal could walk a tightrope by not signing another striker and hoping their question marks come through or they can sign another and ease the world’s collective conscience.

Defensive mid is more of a need than striker. Francis Coquelin has emerged as one of the best, but he cannot do it alone. The risk of injuries, form-dips and exhaustion could jeopardize the entire Arsenal season. I do not want our season to come down to a game of injury roulette. There are so many defensive midfield options available out there. Mehmet Topal highlights the cheaper, older options with experience and Grzegorz Krychowiak is one of the more expensive, younger options.

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The point is, there are options. Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Falmini cannot provide the cover needed for Coquelin. Wilshere could conceivably do so, but he is a tad undersized despite his physicality. Better to be safe than sorry.

Left back is the other spot that could use a fresh face. Kieran Gibbs has really taken a ride on the flop train, but that does not mean he can’t transfer to the world class train at the next station. Injuries have plagued him, as they have so many other Arsenal players, but even when healthy, Gibbs has struggled to find consistency.

Nacho Monreal is the only other option and he has zero upside. He can put in good performances but he has a high degree of inconsistency as well. A cheap, 7-10 million pound purchase of Faouzi Ghoulam would shore that position up for good.

Wenger’s word is law and Henry’s word is peanuts, so do not expect to see all these positions filled. If one or two is what Wenger seeks, one or two is what we get, and we will be happy with it.

Next: Arsenal's Stubbornness to cost them Vidal?

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